17th February 2023
| Matt Thompson
Wales National County have confirmed that Sudbrook will be the host club of the 2023 showcase fixture against Warwickshire which is due to be held on Sunday 30th July.
It will be the third consecutive edition of the fixture whereby first class counties have taken on their national counties neighbours – and this year comes with a twist with Wales’ opposition coming across the bridge rather than being Glamorgan. That particular scoreline remains at 1-1 after Glamorgan exacted revenge last year for their loss against the national county in 2021.
CAPTION: Richard Edwards celebrates the wicket of Glamorgan skipper David Lloyd in last year's showcase fixture at Sophia Gardens. Glamorgan had their revenge for their loss againt Wales in 2021.
So it will be a blank slate for both teams in 2023 as Warwickshire inflicted a 107 run defeat on hosts against Cheshire last season. Despite ten players being called up for The Hundred The Bears took a strong XI to Chester Boughton Hall which included Indian international Krunal Pandya (brother of Hardik), England international Dom Sibley, England Lion Rob Yates, Will Rhodes, Michael Burgess, Craig Miles and Liam Norwell. Whilst Head Coach Mark Robinson is not expected to name the travelling party until much nearer the time, it is anticipated that a similarly strong line up will make the short trip across the border given that it will act as ideal preparation for the domestic 50 over competition as in previous years.
Sophia Gardens has been the venue for the showcase game over the last two seasons, in part due to Glamorgan being the opponents, but this season is the first time Wales NC will use an outground to host proceedings, which has been confirmed as Sudbrook. The South East Wales Cricket League residents have been at Mill Lane since 1983 but have a proud history dating back to its formation in the 1860s. Over that time the club have hosted a number of prestigious fixtures including an Old England XI against the club in 1999, a testimonial fixture for Glamorgan legend Steve James in amongst numerous Wales County Age Group, Wales O50s and as recently as last season Glamorgan 2nd XI.
CAPTION: Sudbrook CC's 'The Mill' has hosted a number of representative games in recent history.
Cricket Section Chairman of Sudbrook Andrew Palmer expressed an excitement to open the club’s doors for the occasion. He commented, this is a superb opportunity to showcase our ground and facilities at a top level and to invite the local and surrounding communities to enjoy a day of top quality cricket for free. We’re really looking forward to the fixture.”
Cricket Wales Head of Talent Pathway Matt Dando-Thompson said, “we’re delighted that Sudbrook have agreed to host the showcase game this season. We know the lengths host clubs go to for a game of this profile and we’re really grateful for them putting their hands up when asked. They have a proven track record in terms of the quality of the pitch and ground infrastructure and it also enables us to bring high quality cricket to another part of Wales the national county haven’t been in recent times. We hope the game will attract a strong local crowd and also appeal to Warwickshire’s followers who won’t have to come too far. It will be an intriguing encounter for sure and we look forward to welcoming Warwickshire for a memorable day.”
As stated, admission for the game will be FREE of charge with limited parking available on site. The game commences from 11am on Sunday 30th July – BBC Sport live commentary is still to be confirmed.
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